Maravi

It’s simply a game of ‘Follow the Leader’

It’s simply a game of ‘Follow the Leader’
By The Post
Wed 18 Aug. 2010, 04:00 CAT

The National Constitutional Conference has been nothing but a fraud, a deception, a waste of time and money. And all those who were involved in it knew this was the case. But for other reasons, they decided to participate in it. We say this because some of the people who were involved in this process have told us this. We therefore salute those churches and others who refused to be part of this banditry, of this fraud and deception.

It is very clear that for some of the delegates of the National Constitutional Conference, this was nothing but an opportunity to make money and indeed they made money.

A look at the way the deliberations proceeded at the National Constitutional Conference and the decisions that were made, reveals more clearly that this was simply an exercise in following the leader. It reminded us of the game we used to play in primary school called “Follow the Leader”.

In this game, we would line up behind the leader and whatever the leader did, we followed suit. It was a game of “follow, follow, follow, follow the leader; I jump, you jump; I sit, you sit; I laugh, you laugh; I cry, you cry” and so on and so forth. This is what happened at the National Constitutional Conference.

It was a game of following what George Kunda wanted as the leader and architect of that whole process. Whatever George wanted, they followed. If he decided to U-turn, they all U-turned. And in saying all this, we are not in any way trying to exaggerate matters or be cynical about anything.

Look at the clause requiring one to have a university degree to be accepted as a presidential candidate! George went there with that as the agenda for the MMD and its government and they decided to push it. They won overwhelming approval for it at the National Constitutional Conference despite great national opposition to it.

When George decided to U-turn on this matter, again, there was no disquisition about it, and he got overwhelming support to drop this clause.

George’s only justification was: “I think this clause is a bad clause. It has been well articulated by those who have opposed it, and we have agreed with them. Let us maintain the status quo.”

This is all George had to say to the National Constitutional Conference, and he got almost unanimous support; and this clause was dropped without much ado.

This is the type of National Constitutional Conference George constructed to come up with the constitution for our country that is supposed to stand the test of time. This is a circus, a comedy. Is this a process that the Zambian people can trust to come up with the constitution that will stand the test of time?

It’s clear that this clause was designed for a special purpose: to stop Michael Sata, who they thought had no university education and qualifications and as such would be barred from contesting next year’s presidential elections. When it transpired that actually Michael was ahead of them and he had a university degree, they started demanding to see it and know where and how he had obtained it.

It is this failure to use that clause against Michael that has made them drop this demand for a university degree. It was also embarrassing for them to keep this clause that they now had no use for against Michael in the light of the performance and prestige of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Lula has no university education but has proved to be one of the best presidents in the world today. This is the fact that even Rupiah Banda could not resist acknowledging.

The National Constitutional Conference has no principles to follow in coming up with the constitution for our country. The whole exercise was one anchored on political expediencies of the moment.

Stopping Michael from contesting next year’s elections is a matter of expediency and not principle. In a country where only a tiny fraction of the population has education of above grade 12, it is impossible to understand how a sane person, a fair-minded person can support such a clause that excludes the overwhelming majority of the population from setting themselves a political agenda.

This may look a small issue on which one can easily change positions if need be. But it is not a small issue. It is a very big issue, and it helps to tell the true character of the people in charge of the affairs of our country today.

It has helped us truly know how unprincipled, how petty and empty, how mercenary some of our people can be. As Nelson Mandela once observed, “…you cannot know a man completely, his character, his principles, sense of judgment, not till he’s shown his colours, ruling the people, making laws. Experience, there‘s the test”.

And sometimes these fellows, because of their excessive levels of opportunism, are not ashamed to display their ignorance. Todd Chilembo, Rupiah's deputy justice minister, described as utopian the demand to include in the constitution the rights of our people to water, food and shelter. He dismissed the whole issue of social and economic rights as utopian.

And many delegates laughed at the whole suggestion as a joke. To them, social and economic rights were a joke, a dream that could never be realised and as such shouldn’t be included in the constitution. Yes, social and economic rights may be said to be utopia. But many of us have dreamed of founding utopias.

And we think it is worthwhile for us to keep on dreaming of a better world in the present conditions and circumstances of our people. We have no alternative. We must continue dreaming, with the hope that the better world will become a reality – as it will, if we keep struggling.

Our people should never renounce their dreams, their utopias. Struggling for utopia means, in part, building it. Today’s dreams were tomorrow’s reality. And we have seen many of the dreams of the past, a great part of our utopias, become reality.

And, since we have seen this, we have the right to keep on dreaming of things that will become realities some day, both in our country and in the world as a whole. If we didn’t think this way, we would have to stop struggling, for the only logical conclusion would be to abandon the struggle for a more just, fair and humane world.

And we think that progressive people, those in whose hearts there is a vestige of love for their country, love for humanity, love for justice, never abandon the struggle for a more just, fair and humane society, just as they never stop dreaming of utopia.

Again, these elements were ashamed by the United Nations' adoption of some of these social and economic rights as basic human rights. They didn’t vote for that but the overwhelming majority of the world’s progressive countries voted for it and passed it.

Today, a country that refused to support the adoption of access to water as a human right, as an economic right, recognised by the United Nations is acknowledging this in its constitution! What type of people are these? What do they know or don’t know? What do they believe in or don’t believe in? Can such people be trusted to write a constitution for our country? This is a bunch of nothing but selfish and corrupt elements who are ready to trade anything for power and privilege.

They have no loyalty to anyone, not even to their country, but only to their pockets, to their greed and vanity. They have no shame. They are chameleons that change their colours so easily. And we don’t want a chameleon constitution. What our people need is a constitution with one colour. This is the type of leaders you have.

Can one expect a process led by George to be an honest one, a consistent one? Look at this fellow’s performance on the issue of corruption! Look at how he has U-turned to disown the process he was so much involved in! Look at how he has abandoned the London High Court judgment in his shameful prostitution with Frederick Chiluba – a thief he had taken to court in London in an attempt to recover what this thief had stolen from the Zambian people!

Look at how this same George has frustrated everything in the fight against corruption in favour of Chiluba and his tandem of thieves! George is a disgrace, a traitor worse than Judas Iscariot. And this is the man you want to think he can give you a constitution that will stand the test of time! George is a shameless selfish person who will live to pay for his sins. If he won’t pay for his sins here, he will certainly pay for them elsewhere.

It is clear that we will not get a constitution we deserve and aspire for from George’s National Constitutional Conference. And we should start preparing for another constitution review process because this is rubbish and it won’t do.

Labels: CORRUPTION, GEORGE KUNDA, NCC

posted by MrK @ 4:19 PM